Skinned

The howl alone left a chill in my bones, and Heath’s sound warning was followed by the rest of the assigned border patrols, their loud cries simultaneously ringing through the land of the pack.

My heart was hammering through my chest, my hands shaking in complete horror knowing that violence was at its peak.

And that whoever took hold of Killian’s life once, was here to take him back.

“Stay in the house and don’t come out,” Killian ordered, his voice setting into a deeper tone of superior command as he slid on his shirt.

“I’m coming with you—“

“No you’re not,” he snarled as he picked up my bag and handed it over to me, “Run back to the house and keep the doors and windows shut. This isn’t a fucking game.”

I sneered and dropped the bag onto the ground, trying to catch up with his strides as he went towards the direction of the breach, “I know it’s not, that’s why I’m going with you.”

A growl went past his lips and my shoulders instinctively curled forward as soon as he stopped and turned around to meet my gaze, his eyes completely blue and aglow as the wild in him surged forward with an intent to fight.

And my instinct was urging me to bend my will and submit to my superior.

His influence was unbearable now that he was seeping with untethered ferocity, and I had to fight back the wince from leaving my mouth as the threat of him weighed down on me.

“They’re after me. It’s not safe out there, and they won’t hesitate to use you against me,” he gritted out.

“This is my pack too, Killian, and I can’t just hide and hope that everyone else is safe!” I bit back.

Killian knew he was wasting time trying to tell me otherwise, and he clenched his jaw as he shook his head to himself.

“We can’t waste time. Let’s go.”

And with that, we hurried to the East where Heath was the first to break out the call.

We managed to reach a clearing, where werewolves trained as the first line of defense were already standing prepared and waiting for command.

Amidst the group of defense was Reed, and as soon as he took notice of Killian’s approach, he pulled himself away from the crowd to address the Alpha.

“Where’s Heath?” Killian asked right away as his eyes looked around the area in search for his second in command.

A grim look took over Reed’s features, and his form quickly tensed up as the thought of his younger brother crossed his mind.

“I… I don’t know,” he said, the tone of his voice cold as he struggled with distress, “Jasper was the only one who managed to outrun the enemies. Heath was left behind along with the rest of the border patrols.”

My heart stopped, the color draining from my face as I thought of every possible thing that could have happened to him.

“Jasper,” Reed called out from the group, and a man with brown curly hair stepped out to approach us, his shoulders curving forward as soon as he stopped under Killian’s penetrative gaze.

Jasper was tall and fit, with clothes torn and dirty as he wiped a hand across his cut open lip. His dark blue eyes refused to look up and regard the Alpha, kept only on the ground as he anxiously waited for what Killian and Reed had to say.

“How many of them are out there?” Killian questioned.

Jasper’s throat bobbed, “A dozen or more. Armed. They shot everyone down, I didn’t even hear the first fire before my partner was d-dead in my arms.”

Reed clenched his jaw, “And Heath?”

“Beta Heath told me to run and alert everyone before shifting,” The male subordinate wore a frown as he recalled the scene that took place, and I could see the fear on the look on his face as he tried to collect his thoughts, “He killed two men on sight, I know nothing more than that because I’d already made an escape.”

“Fucking idiot,” Reed snarled, his upper lip pulling back as his canines descended from the closer presence of his wolf, which sent Jasper to cower back in fear.

“No one sensed them close at all?” Killian asked, his features dark and brooding as he urged the male for more information.

“None,” Jasper said, shame evident in his battered features, “I couldn’t even smell them when they were shooting from a closer distance… I—I don’t even know how I managed outrun them.”

Killian frowned at the subordinate, his eyes shifting ahead of the clearing as he took a brief moment to let the facts run through his mind.

He then clenched his jaw as if he came to a conclusion, and his features darkened as he looked over at Reed, “Alert the wolves, have them vigilant and ready for attack. They’ll be here soon.”

“Am I missing something?” Reed asked, completely dumbfounded.

Killian snarled impatiently, “Alert them, Reed. Jasper didn’t outrun them, they used him as an easy trail to us. If they wanted him dead, they wouldn’t have hesitated to kill him on sight.”

Jasper paled as soon as Killian’s words dawned on him, and he looked down with hands curled into tight fists as he owned his shame.

“If I had realized, I wouldn’t have ran off here,” he mumbled, “Forgive me, Alpha.”

I looked over my shoulder when I felt another wolf approaching, and saw a distraught looking Maliha with her arms folded tightly above her chest, the look in her light eyes telling me her grief of something I couldn’t quite tell.

I thought she was going to approach me, but her gaze slipped away from me and landed on Reed, whose face had shifted to become somber. Her bottom lip trembled as she stopped in front of him, and she settled a desperate grip on both of his arms with wide open eyes that struggled to keep the tears at bay.

“Where is he?” She questioned, her voice barely above a whisper as she looked upon Reed with a tortured expression on her face. Her entire figure was shaking, her knees at the brink of giving up as she urged the male for an answer.

And it didn’t take long for me to comprehend the root of her actions,

Heath was Maliha’s other half.

Reed didn’t look surprised at all, which led me to think that he had already known for a long time. And he looked down at the petite female with distinct sorrow, before giving a shake of his head that was enough of an answer for Maliha.

A broken sob escaped her lips, and I forced myself to turn my head away from the sight.

“I’ll alert the werewolves,” Reed told Killian, and left Maliha alone in her tremor as he went back to the large group of subordinates.

Some of them had already shifted upon Reed’s warning, and some chose to stand by.

Eerie silence fell upon the clearing as we waited for the enemies to arrive, and the rushing wind felt cold against my skin as I stood tense and anticipating for the impending chaos.

We began to pick up the smell of blood, the shifted werewolves raising their hackles and releasing a hostile growl as soon as they recognized the wafting scent.

“Stand down,” Killian told them and pressed his lips into a tight line as he tried to force his senses deeper into the trees ahead of the clearing.

“It’s Heath,” he said, “he’s not alone.”

I began to see a tall form adorned in black gears, and I released a harsh breath when I recognized who he had as hostage, my features dropping as soon as I saw who was under his mercy.

Heath wore nothing but blood as he struggled against the suited man’s hold. His hands were tied tightly behind his back, ceaselessly heaving in breaths as he endured a silver arrow that painfully went through his side.

Reed noticeably stood frozen in place, his eyes going wide in complete horror as he saw his brother bearing an awful extent of damages. I could hear Maliha’s cries from behind us, but I remained consumed by the sight of Heath dangerously close to his demise.

Stopping at a fair distance, the man kicked the back of Heath’s knees, sending the Beta down on the ground. And I heard the rough wince leave Heath’s lips as his body curled in pain upon the impact of meeting the ground.

Rage began to boil underneath my skin, my hands shaking from the rising urge to act, but Killian numbed that intent by entwining his fingers with mine. I looked up at him questioningly, and he returned my look with an expression that pleaded for me to stand down.

The enemy was tall with a built physique, his black hair pulled back into a bun with the side of his head completely shaved off, revealing the lines of an intricate tattoo. What terrified me the most was the way his eyes were yellow and glowing, and the way they openly held a wickedness to them gave no room for any ounce mercy.

The man had a black rifle slung behind him, and he sent us a taunting smirk, posturing himself with arrogance before reaching behind to grab the weapon and pressing the muzzle against the back of Heath’s head.

“Good to see you again, kid,” he smiled, eerie eyes directed solely at Killian tauntingly, “Dr. Mikhailov’s missed you like hell after you came runnin’ out the facility like a rabid fuckin’ dog. You killed a whole lot of people, I was impressed.”

At the mention of such name had a dark look crossing over Killian’s features, and a deep growl was released from the back of his throat, his light blue eyes taking on a brighter glow as the threat in him made a rise.

Everyone including me could feel it just beneath his skin, aching to have its trigger for release, but Killian effectively kept himself in control.

A chaos tethered by the strength of his will.

“And who would’ve thought—,” he paused with a sneer and landed a hard kick to Heath who tried to get up on his feet, “that you’d find yourself a cute little family. Tell me, kid, did you enjoy your stay?”

“Killian,” I said softly. His jaw locked tight as he eyed the enemy, and I gave a squeeze of his hand and looked up at him, worried that he could do something irrational.

The man looked nothing of intimidated by Killian as he continued to rattle the control caging the beast from within, and I couldn’t help but feel like that was his goal,

To press his buttons and make him snap.

The man pressed a finger on his left ear, the taunting grin on his face falling as he listened to someone speaking through the earpiece.

“Yes, ma’am, of course,” he said, and dropped his finger from his ear before looking at us again.

“I’ll cut to the chase. We have the entire perimeter secured with well-armed men, and they’re waiting for my word to kill off this pack just like we did to yours.”

I frowned, and turned to look at Killian to see his reaction. His features were withdrawn as if he wasn’t seeing what was in front of him, and I watched as his frown set deeper and deeper as his thoughts rammed into his mind.

He was starting to recall.

“You’ve had your fun hiding in this fuckin’ place. You either surrender yourself without a fight or leave behind a slaughter of men, women, and children. Make your choice.”

His voice noticeably went abnormally deep at the mention of the last three words, and he gave us a sadistic grin, his lips pulling back to reveal the fangs that slowly extended right in front of our eyes.

And I was chilled to the bone as it dawned on me.

“Vampires,” I breathed out.

At that point, everything made sense. From the way they breached our land without much of a trail, to the way they held no scent. And I could remember well how a few of the older people in our pack would describe their kind,

It was a gift and a curse from death itself, vampires were entirely devoid of every aspect of life.

And behind their luring features and smooth tongue, was a merciless monster that ceaselessly saught for warm blood.

All this time, they had been working in the shadows, probably taking their time creating more weapon. And it frightened me to know that they could hold that much power over us—over anyone.

More men in black uniform stepped out from their hiding, their eyes holding the similar glowing color of yellow, and they had their weapons up and pointed at the rest of us.

Upon instinct, I looked down and took notice of the green laser pointed directly at the middle of my chest. Each one of us were a locked target, and I looked at Killian to see at least a dozen of lasers on him.

The shifted werewolves began to prowl, snapping their teeth upon having such threath placed upon them, and the only thing that was keeping them down was Killian’s command.

“Brave dog you’ve got here, huh?” The man scoffed as he kept Heath planted on the ground with his boot, eyes filled with raw disdain, “Let me guess, a Beta?”

“Fuck y-you,” Heath spat with a harsh jerk against the enemy’s boot.

The man’s features shifted to become dangerously raged, and he wordlessly leaned down to grasp the arrow that protruded behind Heath and slowly push it deeper into the open wound.

Heath released a loud scream of agony, his body jerking from the consuming pain that dug from the inside. And I closed my eyes, my jaw setting tight as I tried to avoid the sight of Heath, but the sound of his torture kept grating my ears.

“Enough, Gael,” Killian snarled.

“So you still remember me?” The enemy let go of Heath with a satisfied smile, “Dr. Mikhailov said it’s likely you wouldn’t, with that wolf’s defense mechanism and shit.”

Killian’s eyes met Heath for a brief moment before glaring back at Gael.

“I’ll go, but you have to promise me that you leave this pack alone. No one gets killed,” Killian said, drawing a triumphant grin from Gael’s lips, and I immediately had a hand latched onto his arm, my eyes wide with horror as I felt my world crumble from his words.

“As should be,” Gael laughed.

Killian looked down at me, his gaze soft and consumed with sorrow as he urged my hand to let go.

“It’s me or the entire pack, Valerie,” Killian said, his words landing a harsh blow to my chest.

“You can’t—You’re not going anywhere,” I told him, my voice completely lost of strength.

My wolf was threatening to break past my skin, her rage fueling my sorrow as she prepared to fight a war that held a cause only for him.

Because fighting for the only one who cared for her was better than fighting for a pack that offered her nothing but a place to stay and a shame to keep.

Killian was quick to notice my tremor, and he cupped my face between his hands, tilting my head up so I could meet his eyes that held nothing but genuine tenderness.

And it tore me apart to know that it was the last time that I was going to have someone look at me like that.

“I remember so much, but I can only tell you so few,” Killian said, his features pained, “I had a pack, they were slaughtered by vampires when I was just a juvenile. I lost a lot of people, and I can’t let the same thing happen to you and everyone else.”

“Thank you for everything,” He gave me a smile, and what fucked me up the most was how sincere it was.

It was so easy for him to come into terms of how he had to leave, and I hated how much I was suffocating with the grief of him being ripped away from me.

I hated how he needed to reassure me.

“No, I won’t let them take you, not when I just—“

“I love you,” Killian mumbled, leaning down to press his forehead against mine with closed eyes.

I knew I couldn’t stop him and that I couldn’t be selfish.

We had to suffer so the rest of the pack wouldn’t have to.

And I felt crippled because of it.

Killian pulled himself away, his eyes casting a meaningful look at Reed before turning around and finally making his leave.

I was about to go after him, but Reed immediately landed a hard grip on my arm, tugging me back as I finally allowed myself to cry.

“We don’t have a choice, Valerie,” Reed mumbled, his eyes kept on his writhing younger brother.

“He’s all I have, Reed,” I sobbed, my voice held in a desperate whisper. And I looked at Killian, expecting him to turn around and look at me, but he kept a straight walk over to Gael.

“On your knees,” Gael snarled as soon as Killian was a few feet away from him.

Killian obliged without a word, and three men circled around him. As if he already what he was supposed to do, he angled his head down to bare his neck as the men locked a silver collar around the base of his throat and two thick silver cuffs on his wrists.

With a press of a button from a tiny remote in one of the men’s hand, the cuffs on Killian’s wrists joined together like magnet and adjusted to fit him tightly, effectively binding his hands from behind his back.

Gael slid his rifle to his back and pulled out a long, black syringe from the pocket of his black vest. His eyes centered before Killian with a smirk, but he mockingly gasped as if a thought had suddenly crossed his mind,

“Oh, pardon my manners,” Gael laughed, his viscious gaze snapping back at us with a grin, “Thank you for taking care of 1.0.0.6. We’ll take it from here.”

Gael handed the syringe to one of his men, and he grabbed his rifle again, pointing it at the back of Heath’s head.

“Heath!” Maliha screamed, her features streaked with tears as she thrashed against a male subordinate’s hold.

Killian glared at Gael, his upper lip pulling back into a snarl as he bit out his words, “Don’t.”

“You don’t make demands here,” Gael hissed, “but I’ll be considerate.”

Gael swiftly adjust his hold on the weapon, and I grew cold at the way his features quickly changed to become frenzied, his eyes kept solely on Killian as he quickly moved the target somewhere else and pulled the trigger without much of a second thought.

Heath’s screamed as his hand flew to his left thigh, the bullet burrowing deep into his flesh.

Maliha cried out.

Reed screamed for his brother.

And before Killian could react, the large syringe was already stuck to the side of his neck, sending its contents straight into his system.

As the substance slowly took effect on Killian, his looked over his shoulder to regard me one last time, he looked as if he had failed everyone, and I could see how his eyes began to lose their focus as a haze quickly began to cloud his judgment.

Whatever was inside that syringe, it was strong enough to render Killian completely weak, his body swaying and losing its posture as Gael’s men forced him up on his feet and started walking him out of the clearing.

I didn’t get to tell him the words he needed to hear,

I didn’t get to make up for the pain I had put him through,

I didn’t get to tell him that I was bearing our future.

Who I was supposed to be devoted to had completely slipped from my fingers, and I had no way to get him back anymore.

“This is what happens when one of you decide to be the fuckin’ hero.” Gael snarled at us, “Because all you’ve ever known, like the animals you all are, is to bite.”

Gael leaned down at Heath, pulling the Beta’s head back by his hair as he said something in his ear. The vampire pulled something from behind his back and placed it in the palm of Heath’s hand.

“Your Beta has two days before the toxins from the bullet reaches his brain, and it would be your decision if you kill him off or not,” Gael laughed, one that shamelessly showed his sadistic humor, “And trust me when I say that you’ll need to.”